Tips for online shopping

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Have a consumer question you'd like us to help you with? Call David Bruce at 870-1736, send e-mail to david.bruce@timesnews.com, or send mail to 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.

The Christmas shopping season officially begins the day after Thanksgiving, but those who shop online know it begins much earlier.

Like now.

The number of Internet transactions made between Oct. 28 and Dec. 25, 2012, increased by 24.3 percent over the previous year, and included a whopping 139.4 million shoppers just during the 2012 Thanksgiving weekend, according to the National Retail Foundation.

That's a lot of online shopping, and a lot of potential cases of fraud and identity theft for those who go online to buy gifts.

How can you reduce the risk of someone stealing your identity and credit card information? Here are some tips, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and Bank of America:

Shop only on secure websites. What is a secure website? It's one in which the data you send -- including your identity and credit card number -- is encrypted before it's transmitted across the web.

Encrypting data makes it more difficult for anyone to read it as the information is sent from your computer to the retailer's web server. If a would-be identity thief can't read the information, he or she can't use it to steal from you.

You can tell a website is secure by two ways. One is that the web address begins with "https" instead of "http." The "s" stands for secure.

You will also see a picture of a lock either in the window of the browser, if you use Internet Explorer, or in the lower left-hand corner, if you use Mozilla Firefox. Click twice on the lock, and you will see details about the website's security.

Know your retailer. If you haven't shopped on a particular website, research the company online to see what customers say about it, Bank of America officials said.

Call the customer service number and ask about the company's policies and guarantees.

And never buy from spammers, companies that e-mail you offering steep discounts. Buying from a spammer increases your risk of fraud or identity theft, and the chances are you will not be pleased with your purchase, Bank of America said.

Keep your computer security up to date. Online shoppers should make sure they have comprehensive security software installed that protects against viruses, identity theft and fraud.

Some security packages are free, while others cost between $50 and $100 a year.

Consumer Reports recommends two of the free security packages, Avast and Avira.

Once you install a security program, make sure you run updates frequently to protect yourself from the latest threats, Bank of America said.

Check your credit card statements each month. Print out your online bills and compare them to your credit card or bank statement when they arrive.

If there is a discrepancy, contact your bank or credit card company, and the retailer.

DAVID BRUCE can be reached at 870-1736 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNbruce.

Talk to us

Have a consumer question you'd like us to help you with? Call David Bruce at 870-1736, send e-mail to david.bruce@timesnews.com, or send mail to 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.